ZeaChem, Procter & Gamble enter joint development agreement

By ZeaChem Inc. | June 01, 2011

Biorefinery developer ZeaChem Inc. announced June 1 a binding multiyear joint development agreement with Procter & Gamble to accelerate development of ZeaChem’s product platform beyond C2 through commercialization of drop-in biobased chemicals and other products.

“As part of its long-term environmental sustainability vision, P&G is committed to using 100 percent sustainably sourced renewable or recycled materials for all products and packaging,” said Len Sauers, P&G’s vice president for global sustainability. “Novel innovations from our suppliers, such as ZeaChem’s unique process to create biobased chemicals, are critical to us achieving this vision.”

“We’re very pleased to partner with Procter & Gamble, a global leader in consumer products and sustainable operations,” said Jim Imbler, president and CEO of ZeaChem. “This definitive agreement will accelerate the time to market for our new product platform and the commercial production of economical and sustainable biofuels and biobased chemicals using ZeaChem’s highly efficient technology.”

ZeaChem’s process uses renewable feedstocks such as poplar trees and agricultural residues to produce the highest yield and lowest carbon emissions of any known biorefining technology. The company has begun fermentation work on this new product platform using the same processes and equipment that the company used to prove and scale up its C2 product platform. Thenew platform also enables ZeaChem to ultimately deploy its technology for the production of other biobased chemicals as well as drop-in fuels. The two companies will utilize ZeaChem’s existing infrastructure at its lab in Menlo Park, Calif., pilot facility at Hazen Research in Golden, Colo., and demonstration-scale biorefinery in Boardman, Ore. Together, P&G and ZeaChem will research, develop and demonstrate, scale-up, and commercialize this new product platform.